Bloomington Common Council Meeting - November 20, 2025
Bloomington Common Council Meeting Summary (November 20, 2025)
Note: The meeting transcript indicates the meeting occurred on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, but the provided instructions specify using the date November 20, 2025. This summary uses the given date per instructions.
The meeting was called to order by Council Vice President (presiding in the absence of Council President Stasberg, who arrived later). All council members were present. The agenda included minutes approval, reports, public comment, appointments, first readings, and second readings/resolutions.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from July 23, 2025 were approved unanimously by voice vote.
Council Reports
- Councilmember Asari reported on an upcoming Maple Heights neighborhood meeting, Innovation Week outcomes, and a food security community conversation.
- Councilmember Zulik reported on progress toward adopting a consent agenda procedure.
- Council Vice President delivered remarks on threats to democracy and press freedom.
Public Comments & Testimony (Non-Agenda Items)
- Christopher MG (Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce) presented economic data: Bloomington wages fell 6.2% in 2025 while Indiana wages grew 5.6% and U.S. wages grew 3.7%. He attributed the decline to Indiana University cuts/hiring freezes. He noted private small business creation rose 3% (three times the national rate) and urged the council to streamline regulations for small businesses and rethink housing incentives, specifically mentioning the payment-in-lieu approach.
Appointments to Boards and Commissions
- Joseph Shing appointed to the Commission on the Status of Children and Youth (Seat C2).
- Zachary Ammerman appointed to the Commission on Sustainability (Seat C5).
- Approved unanimously by voice vote.
First Readings (Legislation)
Four ordinances were introduced and read by title and synopsis only. They will be discussed and voted on at the December 3, 2025 meeting:
- Ordinance 2025-19: Updates maximum towing charges for city-initiated tows.
- Ordinance 2025-20: Updates fees and licensing requirements for nonconsensual towing.
- Ordinance 2025-44: Adjusts septic collar rates for wastewater treatment.
- Appropriation Ordinance 2025-14: Various fund transfers and appropriations.
Discussion Items (Second Readings and Resolutions)
Resolution 2025-20 – Emergency Food Services Funding
- Sponsored by Councilmember Asari in response to prior government shutdown. Distributes funds from the Jack Hopkins Social Services Grant Program to Hoosier Hills Food Bank for emergency food services.
- Discussion focused on a residency requirement in the funding agreement. Council Attorney clarified it was taken from a CDBG MOU and not standard for Jack Hopkins funds. Councilmember Asari indicated no issue with amending if needed, but it was considered moot for this distribution.
- Council comments: Councilmembers expressed pride in the resolution and noted the need for consistent, reliable food assistance funding.
- Vote: Adopted unanimously (8-0).
Ordinance 2025-45 – Salaries of Elected Officials for 2026
- Provides a 2.7% cost-of-living increase for the Mayor, City Clerk, and Councilmembers.
- Councilmember Flaherty opposed, arguing that salaries should be set using the city's comprehensive compensation framework rather than a simple COLA. He voted no.
- Councilmember Rosenbarger also voted no.
- Vote: 6-2 (Ruff, Rahlo, Piedmont Smith, Daly, Zulik, Asari in favor; Rosenbarger and Flaherty opposed).
Ordinance 2025-41 – Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Use Amendment
- Proposed to allow SROs as a conditional use in R1-R4 districts with owner-occupancy, maximum 3 bedrooms, and 2 adults per bedroom. Also permits SROs in RM, RH, and mixed-use districts.
- Amendment 1 (sponsored by Councilmember Piedmont Smith): Technical clarification, corrected typos, added a whereas clause, and clarified definition changes. Passed 8-0.
- Amendment 2 (sponsored by Councilmember Rahlo): Reduce occupancy to 1 adult per bedroom. Debate centered on HUD guidelines, potential for family overcrowding, and impact on housing supply. Councilmember Flaherty and others argued that allowing 2 adults would lower per-capita rent and better serve couples exiting homelessness. Councilmember Ruff supported the amendment, citing HUD standards and abuse prevention. Amendment failed 2-6 (Ruff and Rahlo yes; others no).
- Public Comments on Amendment 2 and the ordinance:
- Christopher MG (Chamber) noted that BZA hearings are a hurdle.
- Jan Sorby supported SROs but argued the ordinance is "half-baked" compared to Salt Lake City's detailed regulations.
- Eric Oost (online) raised concerns about LLC loopholes for owner-occupancy and questioned affordability.
- Wendy Bricht testified about neighborhood impacts, loss of single-family homes to rentals.
- John Lawrence suggested focusing on converting existing hotels/motels rather than "chipping away" at neighborhoods.
- Council comments: Councilmembers shared varied views on owner-occupancy effectiveness, need for incremental housing, and potential for future refinement.
- Vote: 7-2 (Daly, Zulik, Rosenberger, Asari, Flaherty, Piedmont Smith, Stasberg in favor; Ruff and Rahlo opposed).
Council Schedule for 2026
- A proposed annual legislative schedule was presented. Councilmember Asari suggested minimizing meetings for flexibility. Council President Stasberg explained the rationale for a lighter schedule in early 2026 due to interview committees.
- Vote: Adopted unanimously by roll call.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved.
- Two board appointments confirmed.
- Resolution 2025-20 (food bank funding) adopted (8-0).
- Ordinance 2025-45 (salary increase) adopted (6-2).
- Ordinance 2025-41 (SRO amendment) adopted after amendments (7-2).
- 2026 council schedule adopted unanimously.
- Next meeting: December 3, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
All right, seeing as we have a quorum, we'll I'll call to order this meeting of the common council of the city of Bloomington for Wednesday, November 19th, 2025. Our council president, uh Councilmember Stasberg uh is not able to be here tonight. She may arrive later, but that's why I'm chairing the meeting for now. Um will the clerk please call the roll? Yes, Councilmember Flaherty. Here. Ref? Here. Rahlu. Here. Piedmont Smith. Here. Daily. Here. Zulik. Here. Rosenberger. Here. And here. Thank you. Thank you. So to summarize our agenda for tonight, we will have one set of minutes for approval. Then we will move on to the reports section of the agenda. Where we have reports from council members, then reports from the mayor, city clerks, city offices, city boards, and commissions. I don't believe we have any in that category tonight. Reports from council committees, although I don't think we have any of those either. And then reports from the public. So that's the first opportunity for members of the public to comment on items that are not on the agenda tonight. Then we move on to appointments to boards and commissions, and we do have uh at least one appointment this evening. Then we will move on to legislation for first readings. We have ordinance 2025-19 to amend Title 15 of the Bloomington Municipal Code entitled Removal and Impound of Vehicles. Then we will have ordinance 2025-20 to amend Chapter 4.32 of the Bloomington Municipal Code entitled Non-Consensual Towing Business in regard to Title IV updating permissible towing and storage fees for non-consensual towing services. Then we have ordinance 2025-44 to amend Title 10 of the Bloomington Municipal Code entitled Wastewater in regard to septic collar rate adjustment. And then we have an appropriation ordinance 2025-14 to specially appropriate from the general fund, motor vehicle highway fund, local road and street fund, parks and recreation general fund, public safety, local income tax fund, common council Jack Hopkins Fund, Solid Waste Fund, and Fleet Maintenance Fund expenditures not otherwise appropriated. And all those those four items for first reading, the way that we uh do business is that we literally just read them into the record, and there's no public comment on those items if people are interested in any of those four items. They will be discussed and there will be public comment on December 3rd. Then we will move on to legislation for second readings and resolutions where we have resolution 2025-20 to fund emergency food services with a distribution from the Jack Hopkins Social Service Grant Program. Ordinance 2025-45 to fix the salaries of all elected city officials for the city of Bloomington for the year 2026. And ordinance 2025-41 to amend Title 20, Unified Development Ordinance of the Bloomington Municipal Code in regard to a use table amendment for single room occupancy buildings. And we do have two amendments for that. Then comes a period of additional public comment on items that are not on the agenda. And then we will uh review the drafts council schedule for calendar year 2026. And if we're ready to, we can vote on that, and then we shall adjourn. So let us move to the minutes. I move that the minutes from July 23rd, 2025 be approved. Second. Okay it's been moved and seconded, and since we have no um council members that are on Zoom tonight, we can do a voice vote. But first, are there any questions or corrections? No. Okay, Deputy Clerk McDowell, will you please oh wait, we I just said we can do a voice vote.
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